Day 98: A day in the life of a TTC commuter

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 98: A day in the life of a TTC commuter

What a day, what a day, what a day I had yesterday.

Over the weekend we had two days of freezing rain. If you wonder what freezing rain feels like, let someone take a handful of uncooked rice and from a distance throw it in your face, hard.

Not only does freezing rain feel painful, I also find it painful to look it. I mean really, yesterday it was April 16, but nature looks and feels like it’s January 16. It’s cold, the sky is grey and instead of nature awakening in a variety of color, everything is white. Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, they were taken from the safety and the warmth of a bedroom window.

Before going out yesterday morning, I wondered what to wear … snow boots or regular boots. “Wear regular boots,” Dieter advised, “if it’s a little slippery you can hold on to me.” A little slippery???

As soon as we left the building where we live, I knew I was in trouble. There was so much melting ice that we either had to trudge through the slush or step into ankle-deep puddles. And that wasn’t even the worst of it, oh no, the worst was yet to come. Once out of the garden, the street was no longer a street but an ice rink. We were no longer walking, but slipping and sliding and desperately trying to stay upright.

Moments later we faced another problem … going down the steps to the train station. I wasn’t sure whether to hold on to Dieter or to let go. After all, if he fell, he would take me with him and vice versa.

To make a long story short, we made it the station in one piece.

More bad luck awaited us though. The trains weren’t running due to a power failure and everyone had to take a shuttle bus to the nearest station where they did have power.

Don’t imagine this as simple. Along with hundreds and hundreds of people, we stood in the cold, in the freezing rain, waiting for a bus. When the third bus came along, we finally got on.

At Victoria Park station we all got off and made our way to the subway station, only to find out that now that station was out of power. So, everybody back outside and back onto the bus. Eventually, at Woodbine, we managed to get on the train.

We arrived at work cold and wet and very late, but we had made it. Lots of others didn’t, they either didn’t bother coming out or ended up in hospital. I can well imagine that quite a few people fell and broke something or their car skidded and hit something. Good business for the doctors, nurses and panel beaters.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, have a look what we had to deal with.

Don't forget to donate to the Toronto Cat Rescue.

Any amount will make a difference.

www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-9/

Day 52: Pain management - Sciatica

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 52: Pain management - Sciatica

It happened on November 3^rd. It started with a tiny pinch in my back, by 10:00 p.m. I was in excruciating pain. Nine days of pain, pain and more pain. While sitting, standing and walking the pain is moderate, but one wrong move and the pain is so severe that for a moment my breath gets stuck in my throat, or I scream.

Even since I announced this condition, I’ve been getting advice from readers:

-      Rest

-      Walk

-      Apply heat

-      Apply ice

-      Exercise

While these comments are much appreciated, I wonder if any of these people have actually experienced sciatica pain. Come to that, I wonder if my condition really is related to the sciatic nerve. Sciatica pain is not like regular back pain or lower back pain. If you look at the diagram you’ll notice that the sciatica nerve radiates pain into one buttock, hip and down the left or right leg. With me, that is not the case. My pain is centralized at the coccyx and radiates in both buttocks.

As for the given advice … I’ve done everything. I’ve rested, I’ve walked, I’ve applied heat and cold. This morning when I went looking for how to alleviate sciatica pain, I came across an article that said ‘Go for a brisk walk’. I closed my eyes and shook my head in wonder … does this person have any idea what sciatica pain feels like? You could promise me a million dollars, you could promise me ten million dollars if I went for a ‘brisk’ walk and I would have to forego the money. On a good day I can walk slowly, on a bad day, I shuffle. Of all the advice received, this is what has helped me the most:

Let me explain what my days are like.

Showering – This happens with the greatest of care. As you well know, one doesn’t shower standing still, there is constant movement, with twisting and turning. A water dance so to speak. This takes its toll on the back muscles. Not to mention that one stands on a slippery surface. A healthy person has no idea how many muscles are at work to keep a body upright and balanced.

Drying off – This too is risky business. Drying face, neck and chest is no problem, but then it starts … drying arms, back, and legs must be done slowly and with caution. When drying your back, you’re technically doing a mini version of the twist and that can lead to shooting pains. As for drying my legs … I do what I can, but anything below the knee must air dry. I just can’t reach.

Dressing – With a little caution, slipping on my bra and shirt goes reasonably well, but stepping into my underwear and jeans … hm, this takes several attempts, usually accompanied by a lot of groaning with pain.

Face and hair – While I used to do this in front of the mirror, now I moisturize and brush my hair sitting down. I know my face, I don’t need a mirror to show me where the moisturizer goes and neither do I need a mirror to fix my hair.

The first walk - When I’m done, I get up (slowly) and walk to the living room where the couch and a thick pillow awaits me. As I sit down and lean back I let out a contented sigh and feel like someone who just climbed Mount Everest … ‘Aaaaaah, that’s over, I’ve done it!’

Making breakfast - After I’ve rested a bit and caught my breath it’s time for breakfast. I make coffee, tea or hot chocolate and slip a bagel in the toaster. As I wait for the beverage to get ready and the bagel to pop, I have to support myself on the kitchen counter. The pain sags and my coccyx feels like it’s being attacked by several hot bricks. After carefully walking back to the living room I enjoy the satisfaction of sitting down.

When I fire up my laptop and read advice about treating sciatica pain, I come across advice such as … ‘getting on with your day’, ‘doing everything you usually do’ and ‘go for a walk’. I wonder about the experience of these writers. Getting on with my day … walking … hm, I shuffle more than what I walk and a trip to the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom leaves me exhausted and often nauseous with pain.

I do get up from time to time, to get my blood flowing and my muscles from stiffening up, but every time I’m more than happy when I can finally sit down again.

I’m seeing my doctor on Monday. For this, I have to go all the way downtown Toronto and at this time, I have no idea if I’ll be able to make the trip. Fortunately, I have today, tomorrow and part of Monday to get better. To get from home to the station, take three trains and walk from the station to the clinic. Mount Everest, here I come.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 48: Be careful what you wish for

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 48: Be careful what you wish for

Do you ever wish that you didn’t have to go to work? That you didn’t have to do laundry or cook and do the dishes? I think all of us, at one time or another, have wished for something along those lines.

Just the other day, while serving dinner, I thought … I wish someone else did the cooking. Somehow food tastes so much better when someone else prepares it. Maybe I shouldn’t have thought that because I got my wish.

I happened on Friday. I hurt my back and while initially I only felt a tiny pinch in the small of my back, I know from experience that it would get worse. By 6:00 p.m. the ‘pinch’ had turned into an inconvenience and when Dieter asked if I would be able to bowl on Saturday morning I knew for a fact that I wouldn’t be able to. But I resolved that I would go to the bowling alley with him anyway. The walk might do the muscles of my back good.

By 10:00 p.m. I was in agony. Not only would there be no bowling for me, I wouldn’t be able to walk to the alley either. Trying to remedy the situation I applied an ice pack to my back. It had no effect.

I hoped that a good night sleep would have me feeling better, but no such luck. On Saturday morning, I crawled out of bed and shuffled to the living room. It was so bad I couldn’t even shower and believe me, for me to skip my shower it has to be bad.

“Maybe a heating pack will help,” Dieter suggested. Okay, I was in so much pain I would try anything. He popped a gel pack in the microwave and when I applied it to my sore back I think my lower back muscles were the happiest muscles in my body. The pain was far from gone, but at least I had some relief.

And so now it’s Sunday night and I’m still in pain. Dieter has taken care of all the house chores, he cooked, he did the dishes, made coffee, etc. And what have I done? Nothing, absolutely nothing. All I can do is sit in a chair, occasionally shuffle to the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, and sit down again. 

So I got my wish, I got someone to cook for me, but believe me it’s no fun. So, be careful what you wish for as you just might get it.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

I'm baaaaaaack !

Happy New Year to all my readers. I wish you all a pleasant, healthy and fulfilling year.

Did you think I lost interest in my blog? Far from it. I am aware that my last entry dates back to November 2015, but in my defense … I have been very busy writing guides for eBay.

Some of the guides I produced are:

Best tile for shower walls

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Tile-for-Shower-Walls-/10000000206370563/g.html

Best outdoor window cleaners

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Outdoor-Window-Cleaners-/10000000206327831/g.html

Best ice cleats

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Best-Ice-Cleats-/10000000206302225/g.html

These guides are not to be underestimated. There’s extensive research involved, writing the guide, looking for suitable images to accompany the various paragraphs, adding links to make a shopping experience easier, and publishing the guide.

In future, I will share more of these guides as they become available as they might be helpful to some people. I will write the introduction, provide the link and then it’s up to you to click the link, be taken to eBay and hopefully learn something new or be guided in your shopping.

Fall has blown into town

I put flannel sheets on my bed, retrieved my winter socks and dusted off my fleece slippers.  It seems that with the arrival of October, the temperature has drastically dropped.  

What people like about the fall is beyond me.  Some get quite lyrical about it, admiring the trees and their color changing leaves.  Sure, the trees are beautiful, but the way the wind was blowing yesterday and this morning they won’t have their beautiful leafs for long.

Even though I can’t quite say that it’s grown cold, it has become rather chilly.  Chilly enough for me to have changed my shoes for boots and my cotton jacket for a woolen one.  

From now until April, or even May, I won’t be able to sit on the balcony in the canopy swing anymore; and the cats won’t be able to go outside in their kitty run.

Oh I can’t bear the thought that it will only go from bad to worse.  Flowers will completely disappear, the bare trees will soon be covered with frost and I will need to wrap myself in layers of clothing.  For the next couple of months I will need a proper winter jacket, a hat, a scarf and gloves. 

Next there will be snow and ice and with it all kinds of dangers.  I will no longer walk to the subway station, but slip and skid my way over there, desperately trying to stay vertical.  I dislike the fall and I hate the winter.

So what am I doing in Canada?  Good question.  While living in South Africa, I longed for a proper winter.  I missed the cold that brought snow and ice.  In the 15 years that I lived there, I just never got used to celebrating Christmas under a blazing hot sun.  Back then I wanted snow and ice.

Come to think of it, I like the seasons the way they are in Canada just fine.  The spring ... chilly and wet; the summer ... short but hot; the fall ... windy and somewhat depressing; and the winter ... deep freeze cold.  

I need a cup of hot tea.

Going ice skating

When someone hasn’t done something for a long time, it is often said that the ability for this or that will come back to them naturally. “It’s like riding a bike” they say.
Let me assure you, that is baloney.
Take for instance ice skating.

When I heard that colleagues planned to go ice skating, I was one of the first to sign up to join the group. After all, I had once enjoyed ice skating and even though the last time I had been on the ice was some thirteen years ago, I assumed that my body would remember the balance and the ability to skate. It would be just like riding a bike.

We happily chattered on the way to Nathan Phillip Square, where there is an open air ice rink. We somewhat fell silent as we lined up to hire skates. As we saw the ice and saw the skaters (struggling to stay vertical) our courage began to fail. Would this be like riding a bike?

By the time I strapped on my skates I was half frozen and shivering like a leaf on an Alaska tree. Whether this was due to the cold December wind or nerves I’ll never know.
I struggled to get up from the bench and to stay on my feet. Oh dear, and I was still on rubber carpeting. What would it be like once I was on the ice?
I soon found out ... it was hell on blades.

Even with the support from my son, I stood there, too scared to move. Where were the barricades to hold on to? Where was the balance I once had? Where was the ability to do this on my own? I had once done it, why couldn’t I do this anymore?
Like a wooden doll I shuffled on my skates, in danger of going down at any moment, holding on to my son’s hand for dear life.

As he guided me around the rink I didn’t feel the cold anymore, I felt nothing except fear of going down and breaking something I might need later.
When a colleague came along I clutched at his hand too and now supported by two strong arms I started to feel a bit more secure. Given time I probably would have gotten the hang of it again, but all too soon it was time to leave the ice and head back to the office.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to take up skating again, in a proper ice rink that is. A rink with barricades to hold on to until I find that lost balance again.

A bit of this and a bit of that

Those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning might remember that some three and a half months ago I was bitching and whining about the heat.
The air-conditioning in our condo building had giving up and in a temperature of between 38 and 45 degrees C (100 - 113 degrees F), we were boiling in our units.

I remember sitting in front of a fan, my feet in a bucket of cold water, with a wet towel draped around my neck. All in an attempt to stay cool. The only time and place where it was sort of bearable was at night on the balcony, which is where I wrote some of these blog entries.

Now it’s a different story. Toronto got its first touch of frost last night and this morning it was bitterly cold. It warmed up a little during the day, but not much, the temperature was maybe 5 degrees C (41 degrees F). In the sun it was kind of nice, but the wind ruined every chance of warmth.

I don’t know which is worse, the heat or the cold. I suppose the heat. At least to protect oneself against the cold one can put on multiple layers of clothing, while with the heat there is only so much one can take off.

Still, I’m not looking forward to winter. From now until the end of March we’re gonna have to bundle up in sweaters and coats, scarves and gloves and shiver until our teeth rattle.

While it’s dry it’s not so bad, but oh dear, soon we might get ice and snow and that’s gonna make everything even worse. I like falling snow as much as the next person, and the white blanket does make everything look beautiful, but unfortunately that kind of beauty is fleeting. Soon the white snow turns into a gray mess, starts melting and creates ice patches. Uuuh, I can’t even think about it without shivering.

On a different subject ... as of October 29th we’re home owners. Yep, we bought the condo we’ve been living in for the past six years. During the whole of September we went condo shopping but didn’t see anything we liked. It was basically a case of, what we liked we couldn’t afford and what we could afford we didn’t like. So we decided to stay where we are.

On a different note still ... last weekend Dieter and I played in a ten-pin bowling tournament. We weren’t going to play at first, seeing the entry fee was $50 per person, but in the end we couldn’t stop ourselves. I noticed how much Dieter wanted to play, wanted to test his skills against other bowlers and truth be told I like a bit of competition too. So we entered.

Two squads were to play, the first squad at 12:00 and the second at 2:00 p.m. We played in the 2:00 p.m. time slot. We played four games qualifying and at the end of that round we were in first place.
Next came the finals which were three games round robin.
And we nailed it. We beat our opponents one after another and with only two teams remaining (we and another team) it was time for the slaughter.
Dieter played an amazing game and scored 246, beating the pants off the competition. I didn’t do too bad either and so together we took first place!
Prize money ... (drum roll) $800.
We floated home on Cloud 9.

Is this the beginning of good times to come?

A new 'chiller'

There is good news and there is bad news.

The bad news is, the ‘chiller’ of the A/C has packed up. After fiddling with silicone and gaskets, and the machine being red flagged by the Health & Safety inspector, the A/C technicians have given up.

The good news is that the building is getting a new chiller. Long overdue and at a most inopportune time, but better late than never.

More bad news is, it could take weeks for this new chiller to arrive. Apparently there are no chillers in Canada, so management went shopping in the States. As soon as the chiller arrives it will be installed.

Of course, I and everybody else in this building is wondering when that will happen. Will the machine arrive in July? August? Or will we get cooling when we no longer need it?

Meanwhile people have been most helpful with suggesting cooling tips.

- Dress loose and light
- Avoid activity such as cooking and cleaning (I can definitely live with that)
- Put wet cloths in front of the fans
- Put ice in front of the fans

I'm trying everything.

Meanwhile the fans are doing their job.
The two small ones are keeping the bedrooms cool and a big one is cooling the living room. He is so big and powerful, I have him on speed 1. On speed 3 he would blow the cushions out of the sofa.

Have a look at this big boy ...